Chapter 17 Cethin #3
Kailia was standing in the center of it all, two black daggers in her hands.
Her chest was heaving, and her cloak was nowhere to be seen.
With another scream of what Cethin could only describe as manic agony, Kailia dropped to the ground.
Her daggers within reach, she clawed at her boots, ripping at the laces and the buckles.
“Fucking Fates,” Cethin cursed under his breath, her frenzied movements enough to break him out of his shock.
He rushed to her as she pulled the first boot free, ducking to avoid yet another blow to his face as she threw it away from her as hard as she could.
“Kailia,” he said sharply, dropping to his knees beside her. “Kailia, you need to— Are you hurt?”
There was blood splattered all over her skin and clothing, and her tunic was as shredded as it had been the night Razik had picked her up.
Her fingernails were cracked and broken from clawing at her boots, but there was also blood that was fresh and still flowing, as if she had an actively bleeding wound somewhere.
“Kailia, let me look,” he said, reaching for her tunic. She was still thrashing, trying to get her other boot off. The erratic movements made her tunic rip more, and that was definitely a stab wound in her abdomen.
“Shit. We need to get you—”
But he didn’t get to finish the sentence because he’d instinctively reached for her, instinctively tried to scoop her up to Travel her to a Healer. If he’d thought she was manic before, it was nothing compared to her actions now.
Another scream sounded, this one full of agony. She twisted in his hold, falling back to the ground face first.
“Kailia!” Cethin barked, eyes wide as he reached for her again. “It’s me, Kailia. It’s Cethin!”
But she clearly couldn’t hear him over her hysteria. She was stuck in a fight-or-flight mindset, and she was clearly going to fight.
Her magic swirled around her. Her body even flitted in and out of view, but she didn’t go anywhere. She cried out again as her knees hit the blood-soaked ground once more. Once more her ashes swirled, and once more she remained in place.
He needed to get her out of here. Get her to Niara, who could make her sleep again and then heal her wound that was still gushing blood. It had undoubtedly been made worse by her renewed thrashing.
Knowing it was going to make matters worse but not having any other choice, Cethin lunged for her. His arm looped around her waist, pulling her into him. Her front pressed against his chest, and he tried to press his other hand to the stab wound, but she twisted yet again, breaking his hold.
“Godsdammit, Kailia,” he growled, catching her as she tried to crawl away.
Then he was releasing her fully as searing agony ripped through his side. Curses fell from his lips, and he looked down to find a dagger shoved into his side, right next to the broken ribs.
One of her daggers.
She’d fucking stabbed him.
Again.
Yanking the blade free, he slid it down his boot before refocusing on his future wife. Ashes and smoke were once again swirling, and she was once again not going anywhere.
“What in the fuck?” he heard someone yell.
It sounded like Bram. Then there was the sound of several pairs of boots running.
The Cadre had finally found their way here, but there was nothing they could do.
There was nothing any of them could do other than try to hold her down until she came out of whatever this was.
But there was something he could do.
With one hand pressed to his side to staunch his own bleeding, he lifted his other arm. Focusing on her power, he closed his fist, cutting it off from her soul.
A different cry came from her as she clutched at her chest, curling in on herself. Razik stepped forward, bending down to grab her, but Cethin growled, “Don’t touch her.”
Razik’s lip curled back. “This isn’t the time for your—”
“Go fetch Niara and meet us at the estate,” Cethin interrupted. “It’s an order from your king.”
Razik stared back, hatred radiating off him, but Cethin didn’t give a fuck. Not as he pushed to his feet and made his way to Kailia. He bent down, pulling her tightly into him again, this time prepared for all the volatile twisting and thrashing.
“Now, Greybane!” he barked before he Traveled through the air and into the home he hadn’t stepped a foot inside of in over a year.
“Kailia,” he said, trying to be calming, but still trying to be heard over her screams. “Kailia, you need to— Motherfucker!”
Because where in the fuck had she gotten a second godsdamn dagger? A blade that was now shoved right below the first stab wound.
“You’ve got to stop stabbing me, tiny fiend,” he muttered, breathing through the pain radiating up his side.
“Don’t—touch—me,” she cried out in gasps, throwing herself to the side so violently, he dropped her to the stone floor. Even the ornate rug couldn’t soften that fall.
She curled into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest as ashes and smoke swirled, much slower this time. Weaker. Her cries quieting.
He crouched beside her, careful not to touch her this time. “I’m not going to touch you,” he said as tormented amber eyes lifted to his. “But I’m not going to leave you either. I’m staying right here. Niara is coming.” He hesitated before he asked, “Can you lift your shirt? Let me see the wound?”
Her entire body was trembling, and he was forcing himself not to reach for her again.
“Please, Kailia,” he coaxed.
With shaking fingers, she reached for the hem of her tunic, dragging it up. He didn’t miss her wince, as if even the touch of fabric was too much in this state.
The wound came into view, and it was definitely a stab wound, deep and severe.
But that wasn’t what had his darkness appearing.
It wasn’t what had him going preternaturally still.
No, that was the burns across her torso.
Burns on her hands that he could see now that she wasn’t a whirl of violence.
Those were marks around her wrists with puncture wounds from…
thorns. Someone had tried to tie her hands.
Dirt mixed with red. Her shredded tunic was soaked with more than blood.
This hadn’t just been an attack with weapons. Magic had been used.
“Did they identify themselves?” he ground out, his soul vibrating with a fury he’d never known before. “Can you tell me who did this to you?”
She was looking through him though, her amber eyes still. Not a hint of swirling smoke. If she heard him, she didn’t show it.
So they sat in silence. Her curled into herself, and him crouched beside her, a blade still in his side.
Neither of them moved when Razik appeared with Wren and Niara. He heard Wren’s sharp inhale, and Niara’s breathy, “by the gods,” but he didn’t take his eyes off her.
“We need to take her back to the castle,” Niara said, dropping down beside them. She glanced at Cethin, eyeing the dagger. “Both of you.”
“We stay here,” he said. “Get what you need and come back, but first, help her sleep.”
“Your grace, I—”
“It’s not open for debate,” he snapped.
Niara nodded and turned her attention back to Kailia, pressing a hand to her cheek and murmuring the enchantment. Kailia winced at the touch, even as sleep claimed her.
Cethin waved her off to get her supplies when she tried to remove the dagger. When she’d Traveled out, he picked Kailia’s now sleeping form up from the floor and made his way out to the sitting room.
“What do you need us to do?” Wren asked as he moved past them.
Cethin didn’t answer, climbing the stairs to the second floor, his own pain no longer registering.
He pushed open the door to the bedchambers he hadn’t used in decades, taking her to the large four-poster bed.
Despite the house being unoccupied, he made sure it was still cleaned weekly.
They’d stay here for the time being. He didn’t want anyone at the castle to see her in this state. Or seeing him, for that matter.
Only after fetching a wet cloth and pressing it to her wound did he acknowledge Razik and Wren, who had followed them up here.
“Let me, your Majesty,” Wren said softly, reaching for the cloth. “Razik will help with your…”
She trailed off, but Cethin let her take the cloth for a moment. Taking a step back, he held Razik’s stare as he reached for the hilt of the dagger and slid it free. He wasn’t about to let the male help with a fucking thing.
He dropped the dagger and heard it clatter onto the stone floor.
Then he followed as everything went black.